So much for the circus-atmosphere general manager Billy King said the Nets would avoid this year. Can’t wait to see what happens when they open their first training as the Brooklyn Nets.

Their last camp as the New Jersey Nets began with reports that Dwight Howard would ask for a trade from Orlando and could be Newark-bound by Friday afternoon. Then reports said the Magic were considering filing tampering charges because members of the Nets organization, including owner Mikhail Prokhorov, had met with Howard.

King denied that was so. And the Nets were not close to acquiring Howard on Friday. But for the second straight year – which happens to be the second year of the Prokhorov-King-Avery Johnson era - the Nets were embroiled in drama before the basketballs hit the court for

Mikhail Prokhorov’s impact on the Nets hasn’t been felt entirely yet. By now, many thought he would have been able to use his money to attract a top-flight NBA player, but he still has time and Carmelo Anthony is still out there.

Anyway, for some reason the Nets seem to like when Prokhorov is in the Prudential Center, sitting above the court in his luxury box and looking down upon them. He was up there last night for the sixth time this season and the Nets won for the fifth time.

More importantly, their 89-74 victory over the Pistons gave the Nets 12 wins. Some teams had that before Thanksgiving. But the fact that the Nets reached that mark while snow still is on the ground and some people still have their Christmas lights is a reason to believe this team is heading in a direction

The Nets have been here before, and not just this season.

They’re stuck in-limbo, seemingly exhausting every possibility as they wait for a deal to happen involving a superstar player, who because of his unhappiness and want for what could be green pastures has turned two franchises upside down.

Carmelo Anthony is doing what Jason Kidd did in 2008. The difference this time is the Nets are not acting from a position of strength because they’re not the one dealing the All-Star player.

Don’t get me wrong, the Nets have bargaining power. They have the assets Denver wants: draft picks, young players, the ability to trim salary to the point where the Nuggets don’t have to pay luxury tax.

But the Nuggets really have the final say on if the current three-team 14-to-16-player

Newark is supposed to be Shaquille O’Neal’s turf, but a gigantic billboard covering a building on Route 21 seems to indicate it’s Brook Lopez’s city now.

Further proof was early in Thursday’s game in the Prudential Center as Lopez took it to O’Neal and drew three quick fouls on Shaq in his backyard.

Clearly, O’Neal is not the player he was and Lopez is the Nets’ star on the rise. He probably won’t ever reach Shaq’s status, but everyone knows he is for the Nets what O’Neal was for the Magic, Lakers and Heat – The Man

“Brook Lopez is going to be great if he continues to work,” Celtics coach Doc Rivers said. “Right now Brook is the picture of the Nets. He is ‘The Guy.’ He’s tough

Avery Johnson may not have been the Nets’ first choice, but might turn out to be the best choice for what they need after one of the worst seasons in NBA history.

Injuries and bad breaks led to 18 consecutive losses to start the season. A lack of coaching, leadership and accountability was why they won just 12 of their remaining 64 games after they were mostly healthy.

They lost all those things when Lawrence Frank was fired, but now have it again in Johnson, the Nets new head coach and first of the Mikhail Prokhorov era.

As a player, there was no questioning Johnson’s leadership and desire. He bounced around for most of his 16 NBA seasons, but spent a good chunk in San Antonio where he played with David Robinson and Tim Duncan and helped the Spurs to the 1999 NBA championship.

NEW YORK – Mikhail Prokhorov said all the right things today, everything Nets fans wanted to hear, even some who are unhappy that his purchase of the team solidified the eventual move to Brooklyn.

Prokhorov was entertaining at his introductory brunch and press conference as the Nets' new owner. He displayed a strong sense of humor, but also exuded confidence about turning the Nets into the envy of the league. Jason Kidd would have loved playing for this guy.

Prokhorov is convinced he can put together a sales pitch to lure the top free agents to the Nets. He’s also convinced the Nets will raise the championship trophy at the earliest in Newark within the next two years and at the latest in Brooklyn within five years.

He also hinted that the most vilified Net last

Money won’t be an object for the Nets this summer, be it for a coach or players. That’s what Mikhail Prokhorov taking over means.

The Nets have to use that money wisely and by that we mean they can’t overspend for the likes of Rudy Gay and David Lee. Also, the Nets have to make sure when they go shopping they find a leader.

They were lacking in so many areas during this 70-loss season and leadership ranked right up there.

Back around the time Vince Carter came back to East Rutherford to do his basketball camp last summer we wrote about how hard it would be for the Nets to make up for his leadership. They didn’t and still haven’t.

Devin Harris said all the right things, but he got hurt in training camp and missed most of it. He never was appointed official

The Nets season ended in fitting fashion. At least they had a night out on South Beach. At times, they played like they had a night out on South Beach.

This was a game you thought the Nets would win, especially since the Heat were without Dwyane Wade, Udonis Haslem and Jermaine O’Neal. But how many times have the Nets not taken advantage of a team without some of its top players? Whatever the number is, add one now.

The Nets should have avoided their 70th defeat. But they were down 13 at the start of the fourth quarter as they played like there was some good times on Ocean Ave or Collins. But hen the Nets put up a fight and made it interesting.

They didn't lose until double overtime, 94-86, and the game wasn't decided until Yakhouba Diawara banked in a three. The last time the

The Nets’ best game of the year came in the next-to-last game they will play at their home of 29 seasons. It's doubtful they will be able to top it in Monday’s Izod Center finale.

But it was riveting how the Nets played at the end after giving up a 12-point fourth-quarter lead with 7:40 left and 10-point cushion with 4:43 remaining in regulation.

None of that mattered after the Nets pulled out the 127-116 double-overtime victory over the Chicago Bulls, a game that featured some huge performances.

The biggest was by Terrence Williams. The rookie had his first career triple-double, finishing with 27 points, 13 rebounds and 10 assists. The final assist came with 17.6 seconds left in the second OT.

Brook Lopez, whose dunk gave Williams the triple-double, was clutch. He dunked